Framework

The development of the Making Every Contact Count Framework is the beginning of implementing the Making Every Contact Count programme in the Irish Health Service. The Making Every Contact Count Framework was officially launched in May 2017.

A 5 year implementation plan with 23 high level actions that will be implemented at a strategic and operational levels under the following areas:

Leadership

Staff Engagement, Training and Support

Partnership and Cross-Sectoral Working

Monitoring and Evaluation

These actions set out what is required by Corporate Divisions and by each Hospital Group and Community Healthcare Organisation to implement Making Every Contact Count as part of their Healthy Ireland Implementation Plans.

Model for Making Every Contact Count

The model for Making Every Contact Count is presented as a pyramid with different levels as you can see from the figure. Each level represents an intervention of increasing intensity.

Implementing the Making Every Contact Count approach seeks to begin the process at the basic levels of brief advice and brief intervention. In practice this will mean that all health professionals and healthcare assistants will to be trained to a level that enables them to conduct a brief intervention with their patients.

It is envisaged that extended brief intervention will be delivered to patients requiring more intensive support in their behaviour change efforts and/or who may be self-managing an existing chronic disease.

The specialist services are delivered by practitioners who use specialised or advanced approaches to support patients to change behaviour. These services are part of existing clinical pathways for patients and while not the main focus of Making Every Contact Count they are an integral part of a comprehensive model for behaviour change, hence their inclusion in the model.

In the implementation of this framework health professionals working in these services are being asked to make every contact count in terms of lifestyle behaviour change. In the future the Making Every Contact Count model will be an integral part of the clinical care pathway for patients.